Nobody will forget 2008 and the credit crunch which brought financial markets to their knees.

Stock markets around the world plunged as fears of recession deepened and even the most resilient companies saw their shares suffer.

Not surprisingly none of the shares tipped in last December's Insider made gains and many saw massive falls in their value.

Fraser Robb picked the best and worst performers with Morrison Supermarkets suffering a modest 8.8 per cent fall while the troubled Royal Bank of Scotland plunged by a stomach churning 86.5 per cent.

Morrison's shares have been hit by fears about its ability - as the smallest of the Big Four supermarkets - tomaintain profitability in the event of a price war.

The Royal Bank of Scotland's woes which led to the departure of chief executive Sir Fred Goodwin are all too familiar to Insider readers.

There was some consolation with another financial services giant, Standard Life - picked by Chris Clayhills-Henderson - seeing a 14.3 per cent decline which was a reasonable performance in its own sector.

Oil and gas related companies KBC Advanced Technologies and Cairn Energy - picked by John Moore - also took a hit in a year which sawoil prices soar to Û150 a barrel and then collapse to less than Û70.

Another oil and gas company Bowleven - which was last year's winner after a 72.3 per cent increase and picked again by Sid Noble - also fell victim to oil price worries.

With advertising spend being reduced by companies cutting costs, media giant WPP suffered toowith a 42 per cent fall in its share price. WPP also got involved in a takeover battle for market research group TNS which it won but the market believes it has overpaid.

Stirling-based insulation manufacturer Superglass saw its shares crumble from 189.25p to 29p partly due to the delay in the Government's carbon emission reduction target programme. Its - albeit limited - exposure to the new build market also meant the company had to sell more overseas at lower margins.